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Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Michelle from City House Studio is very talented...in fact every time she links up to Fabric Tuesday she's always one of the top viewed links. Not too surprising, check out her Quilt Finishes 2011! Talk about impressive! She also recently celebrated a 30 something birthday...Happy Birthday Michelle! Okay try and keep your mouth closed when you see this GORGEOUS finish!

My Grandma's 90th Birthday was November 1st, and I wanted to do something really special for her. She has been one of my favorite people for a long time -- she used to fix the holes in my worn out teddy bear, over and over. She always choose the Old Maid card that my brother and I wanted to get rid of. And I still wish that she could make me a peanut butter sandwich every night for a bedtime snack, like she used to do when I slept over at her house.She makes the best peanut butter sandwiches, ever.

When my Grandpa turned 90 years old a couple of years ago,my brother and cousins presented him with 90 bottles of beer.You should have seen the huge smile!

So I wanted to do something equally amazing,and maybe even better, for Grandma.

So here it is . . . . 90 quilt squares!

After I read about the Farmer's Wife Quilt Along starting up,I knew that this group of blocks would be perfect.My Grandma wasn't a Farmer's Wife, but she was a farmer's daughter!

I started making the blocks this past summer, but quickly realized that I would need (LOTS) of help if I was going to finish it in time.

So I invited my mom, aunt, and uncle over for some quilting parties!

They're not technically quilters, but my mom and aunt have done some sewing, and my uncle is a mathematician & painter, with a good eye for design and color.

We spent most of our Tuesdays together for the past 2 months -- they'd arrive right after I dropped the kids off at school, and we'd sew for hours and hours.Most of the blocks are paper pieced -- and my quilting helpers did ALL of the tearing the paper off the backs for me -- how wonderful!

We had so much fun together, that I've joked that we need to decide who to make a quilt for next -- we make a great team!

We had a hard time deciding on a layout for the 90 blocks,because a simple square design of 9 x 10 blocks seemed too plain.

And I wanted to make it large enough to fit a double/queen sized bed.

One day we just started laying out our blocks on a huge piece of white fabric,and this design was born!

For the blocks set on point, I cut a 5 1/2 inch square on the diagonal,

then sewed these triangles on all four sides.

For the squared up blocks, I added 2 1/2 inch sashing to all 4 sides.

All blocks were then squared up to 9 inches.

There is another 2 1/2 inch border around the very edge of the quilt.

The fabrics are Kona Snow and Moda Sugar Pop.

I free motion quilted this myself,using a fairly small meandering type pattern throughout the solid snow fabric. I love how it makes the blocks pop!The batting is Warm and White, and the back is a collection of left over pieces.

What an amazing quilt and an even better story. I can't t hink of a better gift for a loved one...several family members coming together to work on something so special. And I love your story of how your grandmother used to make you peanut butter sandwiches. I never had a grandmother and I always love to hear stories like this. I always tell my children that they are fortunate to have had all four grandarents!

That is truly a work of art. Can I be a honored aunt or something? No wonder that she loved it. I hope she has many, many days of enjoying it with you. I am going to have to look up the Farmers Wife blocks now. You have me motivated.

She may have gotten a wonderful quilt, but you got the priceless gift of time spent working together with your loved ones. You need to make another quilt and keep that wonderful group together. You are blessed!

I absolutely LOVE your setting for the blocks. How unique! You've inspired me to look at my blocks differently. I haven't decided on a setting yet but this is my favorite so far. Great job. I'm sure Grandma will treasure this work of art!

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Beautiful quilt! I would like to use this setting, however, I cannot see the sashing at 2 1/2" each side making a 9" square. Cutting a 5 1/2" square diagonally into quarters does not yield a side big enough for a 6 1/2" side. Could you help me out? I have done it with paper and can't make it work. Thanks so much.